A Real Nightmare
by CSICowboy
Summary: The Los Vegas Crime Lab is shorthanded becasue of a bug going around. When Nick goes missing it's so busy no one notices. I suck at summaries, just read. Oh and the rating may be a little high. I don't know about pairings.
1. A Bug Grissom doesn't have

A/N: Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! I watched CSI the other night and I only saw four short scenes with Nick in them. (Well, I didn't see the whole thing, so there could've been more, but that's not the point.) I thought up this story because of my madness.

Disclaimers: I don't own CSI or any of its characters.

Summary: Nick isn't anywhere to be found. What happened to him?

Sara sighed she was getting nowhere with this case. All the leads were dead ends, the witnesses weren't talking, there weren't any prints, and there was barely any evidence. Even if they found the murderer it would be hard to hold them in court.

This was the third double she had pulled this week. She was tired and her temper was short. It had been extra busy the past two weeks because the lab was shorthanded. There was a bug going around. Warrick had caught it two days before and was still puking in his toilet. Catherine was coughing a lot today, but she insisted it was nothing. Still she wasn't allowed out in the field. Nick looked really queasy after the interview with the victim's brother earlier that day, but he said it was nothing and went back to work. Greg was on vacation, so he probably hadn't been affected by the bug. Grissom seemed to be the only one who didn't look or feel sick. Even Sara had been feeling sick earlier, but it passed quickly.

Sara sighed again. She couldn't keep her mind on the work at hand. She got up and headed for the Break Room. _I NEED coffee_, she thought. She walked over to the counter and found a fresh pot of coffee.

_That's funny, I thought Greg was on vacation_, she thought as she took a whiff of the coffee, _definitely Blue Hawaiian_. _Someone must have found his stash_.

She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. She took a long sip and set the cup down. _Ahhh, I needed that,_ she thought.

She was about to pour herself another cup when Catherine stumbled in. _She looks like she needs this much more than me_, Sara thought upon sight of her co-worker. She poured the coffee into the cup and headed over to Catherine who was slouched on the couch. Catherine had been too tired to even noticed Sara when she had entered the Break Room. She was so tired she wouldn't have made it to her goal, the coffee machine, if it hadn't been for Sara.

Sara tapped Catherine on the shoulder startling her.

"Hey Cath, you look like shit," Sara greeted.

"Thanks," was all Catherine murmured in response.

"Anytime," Sara replied, "You look like you could use some coffee," she said holding out the cup of coffee.

"Thanks," Catherine mumbled for the second time, accepting the cup gratefully.

Catherine took a sip of the warm coffee, smiling appreciatively.

Sara walked back to the coffee machine and poured herself another cup. She walked back over to the couch and sat down next to Catherine.

They finished their coffee in silence and then Catherine followed Sara back to her office to see what she had found, which wasn't much. They passed the locker room on the way to Sara's office. From just outside the door they could hear muffled sounds. Catherine opened the door slightly and peered inside. She couldn't see anything, but she identified the sounds they heard as someone puking the contents of their lunch into a toilet.

Catherine opened the door wider and stepped inside, closely followed by Sara. They walked past the bay of lockers slowly and peeked around the corner to where the bathroom stalls were. Inside the second closest stall they could see Nick almost doubled over, and puking into the toilet. Sara guessed he hadn't had enough time to lock the door in his rush to get to the restroom.

Catherine and Sara waited for Nick to emerge from the stall before making their presence known.

When he finally did come out he was holding his stomach as if he was afraid that if he let go it would escape.

"Hey, Nicky, you don't look so good," Catherine said making him jump.

_Well, of course he looks bad, he just regurgitated his whole lunch into the toilet, _Catherine scolded herself.

"I'm fine," Nick said in a scratchy voice. This set him off in a coughing fit.

Sara and Catherine both rushed to his side. Catherine started rubbing his back while Sara just tried to keep him from tumbling over.

Once Nick's coughing subsided they walked over to the benches between the lockers.

"Why don't you head home, you're not going to be able to do much work if you're constantly throwing-up," Catherine suggested. Sara nodded her agreement.

"But," Nick started but was interrupted by Sara.

"No buts, we'll let Grissom know," Sara said sternly.

"Yeah, go home and get some rest," Catherine ordered.

Nick knew better than to argue, so he just nodded and smiled. He got up and walked to his locker. He took out his jacket and said a quick good-bye before leaving the locker room.

A/N: I was thinking about making this chapter longer, but it's 10:00 and I'm done thinking for the day, sorry I can't post it today, though. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Please review.


	2. An Awful Mess

Grissom sat in his office. The crime lab personnel were bustling around in a hurry trying to solve the endless cases. Yet, he was doing absolutely nothing. He just stared at the telephone he had recently put down, with his eyebrows furrowed and a deep frown on his face.

This was how Catherine and Sara found him when they came to tell him Nick had gone home.

"Grissom?" Sara asked cautiously.

"Grissom!" Catherine practically yelled.

Grissom jumped. He stared up at them. "Yes?"

"You Okay?" Catherine asked.

"Yeah," he replied.

The girls looked doubtful, but didn't press the issue. "Just came to tell you Nick went home," Sara said.

"Why?" Grissom asked.

"Let's just say he wouldn't have a very clean desk if he stayed," Catherine explained.

Grissom nodded his understanding.

The two women left the room and headed back to Sara's office.

Grissom glanced at the phone again. (A/N: This is set before his surgery, I don't know about the rest of the story; just try to go along with it.) His doctor had called, he would be going in tomorrow for surgery. He didn't know whether to be excited or nervous. And what would he tell his team, or the team that was left.

Nick unlocked his Tahoe and got in. He shut the door and leaned back in the seat. He closed his eyes and sighed. He opened his eyes and started up the Tahoe.

He didn't even notice the car following him out of the parking lot.

He had been driving for 5 minutes before turning onto The Strip. He turned on his radio and country music poured into the vehicle.

He recognized the familiar tune and started to sing along.

I woke up early with a poundin' in my head  
I'd been out the night before with all my friends  
A little worried, kinda wonderin' what I did  
I said, " Lord, please forgive me for my sins."  
My wife wanted to kill me, but she tried to save me first  
"You're goin' if I have to drag your butt to church."

I love this crazy, tragic,  
Sometimes almost magic,  
Awful, beautiful life

I read the hymns and kinda sorta sang along  
And made it through the Sunday sermon wide awake  
We met the family for dinner at our home  
Drank some beer, watched a game, and cooked some steaks  
My little brother had a big fight with his wife  
And my poor mother sat between 'em both all night

I love this crazy, tragic,  
Sometimes almost magic,  
Awful, beautiful life

We said a prayer for Cousin Michael in Iraq  
We're all aware that he may never make it back  
We talked about the way we missed his stupid jokes  
And how he loved to be a soldier more than most

I laid in bed that night and thought about the day  
And how my life is like a roller coaster ride  
The ups and downs and crazy turns along the way  
It'll throw you off if you don't hold on tight  
You can't really smile until you've shed some tears  
I could die today or I might live on for years

I love this crazy, tragic,  
Sometimes almost magic,  
Awful, beautiful life

I love this crazy, tragic,  
Sometimes almost magic,  
Awful, beautiful life

Alright  
It's a beautiful life  
Awful, beautiful, life  
I love this life  
It's a beautiful life

(**Darryl Worley's Awful Beautiful Life)**

**The song ended just as he pulled into his driveway. He parked the Tahoe and hopped out. He felt a little dizzy, so he stretched his arm out to the Tahoe to steady himself. **

**Once the wave of dizziness passed he walked to the front door and unlocked it. He walked inside and closed the door. **

**He was walking to the kitchen when he suddenly felt like puking. He dashed for the bathroom, but didn't quite make it to the toilet. He puked all over the bathroom floor. **

**Nick sighed and walked back to the kitchen grabbing the roll of paper towels. _I wonder if this'll be enough, _he thought. He returned to the bathroom and just laid a bunch of paper towels on the mess. _I hope it absorbs some of it_. He walked over to the closet to see if he had any clean towels. He sighed when he found none. _Oh well_, he thought as he walked back to the kitchen.**

**A/N: I know, sucky ending for the chapter, but I'm brain-dead. Thanks for reading, and please review. **


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